Congressional candidate Kennedy talks issues at restaurant

SWANSEA — Simply Simons restaurant on Wilbur Avenue was one of the stops on the campaign trail on Sunday for congressional candidate Joe Kennedy III.

Mr. Kennedy went into the kitchen of the restaurant to meet the staff and then chatted with diners as they were eating breakfast.

The stop in Swansea was one of several for Mr. Kennedy on Sunday. As he has been talking to people about the election, he said jobs and the economy have been number one on their minds and then the issues have ranged from healthcare to education to U.S. troops in Afghanistan. But he talked about a 90-year-old man in the restaurant who told Mr. Kennedy about how squeezed he was for money because of the high cost of healthcare.

"It gets back to the sense that people are working hard," Mr. Kennedy said. "They are not looking for handouts. They don't want anything excessive. They just want a shot."

Mr. Kennedy said part of the reason why he is running for U.S. representative is because he wants there to be a sense of fairness for people. He said people see Wall Street making a lot of money while regular people struggle to make ends meet. Mr. Kennedy said he has always believed that the country was founded on a pretty simple idea that everyone should be treated fairly by each other and by their government. He said everyone deserves a fair chance to make the most of their hard work and talent, but he said there is a real sense from people that that is not true anymore.

"It's not an anger at people doing well," Mr. Kennedy said. "It's an anger that many folks don't feel they have an opportunity to do well, that they are not going to see a return on the investment of their hard work."

Mr. Kennedy said level playing fields have to be created so that each person has the ability to move up the ladder. He said leveling that playing field starts with government helping small businesses to grow and doing what they can to assist those businesses, but also staying out of their way when they should. Mr. Kennedy said there needs to be a more simplified tax code and an education that prepares workers for the most competitive economy on the planet.

Mr. Kennedy is the son of former congressman Joseph Kennedy II and the grandson of former U.S. attorney general and presidential candidate Robert Kennedy.

"I think my family is well aware of the rigors of a campaign and they obviously have been extremely supportive, but recognize this is my race," Mr. Kennedy said when asked how much influence his family had on him running. "It's my name on the ballot and it had to be my decision."

On social issues, Mr. Kennedy, who as a student at Harvard University was a member of the legal aid bureau that worked pro bono for impoverished neighborhoods, was technical editor at the Harvard Human Rights Journal and founded an empowerment program for at-risk youths in a Boston public school, said he pretty much falls in line with many of his family members. In a broad sense, an area where he would say he differs is fiscally, where he says the country has to be realistic about its situation and get its financial house in order.

Gary Simons, who cooks at the restaurant, gave Mr. Kennedy some steamed clams to take with him. He said he talked to Mr. Kennedy about taxes for small businesses and the healthcare costs for them.

Beatrice Simons, owner of the restaurant and founder of the Somerset Democratic Town Committee, said Mr. Kennedy, who has been an assistant district attorney, was very polite and personable.

"He was willing to listen to anything you had to say," Ms. Simons said. "He was concerned about small businesses and he was very interested in what we had to say."

Ms. Simons said her late son, Brian Simons, used to say "Hi Mr. President" when he saw John F. Kennedy on Cape Cod. She said he got to know him better and then started saying "Hi Jack." She said he had a scrapbook of photographs of JFK.

Richard Montour, a customer at the restaurant who is an electrician, said he asked Mr. Kennedy about the healthcare program Congress is trying to abolish and about the future of jobs.

"He stopped and listened to you," Mr. Montour said of Mr. Kennedy. "That is important today."

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